h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The subject is not an age jab--considering the fact that I joined h2g2 when I was a junior in high school and am now finishing up my first term of grad school, nobody feels older than I.

I just wanted to say 'hi', which I don't do enough, and ask how you are. And also ask how h2g2 is, since I've neglected it for so long...

Cheers!
Darth Zaphod

Glad you stopped by

I was thinking of you a couple of months ago - musta been about the time you were enrolling in Grad Skool - and wondering how you were getting on. So I'm doubly glad to hear from you especially that you are indeed getting on.

H2g2 has had some ups and downs and to a large extent lost sight of its founding principles (Douglas Adams et al) but there are a few staunch survivors who continue to suffer the slings and arrows of assorted johnny-come-latelies, trolls, religious zealots, gay agendists, and the occasional jihadist on a phishing expedition.

I've been reduced to about six hours per week total time online at a public library because there is no internet back in the woods where I live now so I really can't say in fairness how h2g2 is doing on the whole. I only meet the weirdoes around that most public of Forums "Ask h2g2" and yet it seems the Post still carries on and other Forums seem to have a regular and healthy attendance. I just don't have time.

Do tell me what you're post-gradding in. I'd like to think it was Literature or Creative Writing but would be just as pleased to hear it was radiology or engineering or avionics or whatever.

Oh and BTW I have discovered Terry Pratchett and his Discworld novels and read about 27 of the 30 or so in the past seven months. I do recommend him to anyone who might need an intelligent laff now and then.

peace
~jwf~

Boy! I never did reply to your last message, and I just realized it - how awful of me! I spend next to no time on h2g2 anymore...just logging on every so often to add new members to the Random Quotes Guild.

As you might imagine, Grad school keeps me well busy. I'm now in my 2nd year, and as a part of my funded assistantship I am teaching two sections of freshman English - a "writing: rhetoric as argument" class. There's something to be said for having the opportunity, at such a young age, to teach kids who aren't much younger than me how to write. I'll say now, just a few weeks in, that it's quite the experience aMedieval and Renaissance British Literature - no surprise there, huh? I'm *really really really* enjoying it! I've already gone to a couple of conferences and presented papers, and I plan on going to even more this year. I'll also start applying to PhD Programs (my top pick right now is California-Berkeley but I'm also interested in U. of Maryland and U. of Minnesota). I also hope to be accepted into an intensive language program in Turkey so I can start to learn Ottoman Turkish.

Ottoman Turkish, you ask?! Yes! My thesis is about representations of Turks in early modern English broadside ballads (Turks and Islam are HUGE right now in Renaissance Studies, but surprisingly NO ONE has written ANYTHING about the ballads! Hooray, my own niche!) It's proving to be a difficult but fruitful endeavor. I really like my topic and I can already tell it's the sort of thing I'm going to get many many years of productive research out of!

Other than that...hmmm...I bought a puppy recently, so he's keeping me busy. Luckily he's best friends with my bird, and doesn't try to eat him

I'd love to know what you're up to, jwf! Please fill me in! In fact, it might be easiest to just e-mail me at [email protected] - that way I'll actually get your messages!

Thanks for keeping in touch all this time - it's really nice to know I have long-time friends to come back to

Darth Zaphod

Ot

Hey! It's you. Really good to hear from you.

In the past few months I've referred to you a couple of times in various h2g2 threads. In one there was discussion about age limits on the site and the difficulties and embarrassments and even legal troubles that can ensue from blind conversations when one doesn't know the age of people posting.

There was some discussion of how some young folks appear more intelligent, better informed and socially mature than the expected average and that therefore age restrictions were unfair, impossible to enforce, etc.

I was happy to tell everyone of our online relationship; how interesting and sensitive I thought your writing was and how witty and mature you seemed. And then how shocked I was to later learn you were under 16 at the time but that we had continued to chat amicably about writing and other stuff.

I went on to mention how proud I was that you had gone on to college and were now in Grad school still following a love for language. I also said how much I looked forward to hearing from you occasionally with an update. And here you are!
Sigh...


~jwf~